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url 2016-03-31 03:04
5 Fantasy Authors I Fangirl Over

 I’ve talked on and on before about how fantasy is my favorite genre. I’m more likely to be drawn into reading a fantasy novel than any other, and some fantasy novels have inspired me as a writer too. Yes, I like to write. I’m a writer and a reader and a blogger. For the five authors I fangirl over, some of the commonalities include: a.) character-oriented fantasy; b.) mostly third-person narratives; c.) plots that go beyond the ‘lost prince trying to reclaim throne’ type; d.) complicated characters, plots, everything. And of course, the fact that I feel like my mind is getting bigger while reading their books.


1. KRISTIN CASHORE:

I think that one of the most interesting things about Kristin Cashore’s Seven Kingdoms series is that they’re all so different in terms of plot, though they’re all high-concept works that go waaaaay beyond their simple description (“a young queen must help her country heal after the destructive reign of her psychotic father” could describe Bitterblue but doesn’t get at any of the novel’s complexities). Probably the simplest, most typical coming-of-age of her books is Graceling, but that was her debut novel, and I think that ever since then, she’s been working on adding more and more complexity into her works. For me, she was the first author I’d read in YA fantasy who was also very much writing character-oriented fantasy. After reading her work, I feel like I can’t go back. I can’t read much plot-based fantasy—they’ll never be my favorites compared to the ones that put character first. The ones where the questions and themes and symbols of the series are embedded into the characters—and yeah, plot-based fantasies can do this, but comparatively, it’s a lot harder to add in the same level of complexity into the characters compared to the actual events of the plot. Kristin Cashore is the YA fantasy author who also gets mentioned in almost every YA fantasy comparison (“Graceling meets XYZ”; “For fans of Kristin Cashore”), and that’s for good reason.

2. MEGAN WHALEN TURNER

I’ve basically already fangirled hard over The Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner. If you follow that link, you’ll get the full sphiel on why I loooooove that series and fangirl over MWT in full, but for now… If I learned how to write high-concept character-oriented high fantasy from Kristin Cashore, I would learn how to write a high fantasy centered on a character that’s like a living legend from Megan Whalen Turner. (If this sounds familiar, that’s because Sarah J. Maas, among many others, was inspired by the Queen’s Thief series). I also think that of all the authors here, MWT probably has the *most* layered into each scene of her books, particularly as you go further into the series. The most in the sense that no scene will ever be just what it is on the surface; you might have a scene where a guard is confronting his peer, but there’s a lot more meaning embedded into the narrative and particularly how that scene contributes to making the main character, Eugenides, even more of a living legend. Yet, for all that the series shows his change in fortune, it never once fails to humanize him. Many fantasies alternative PoVs within a book so that you can relate to different characters; the Queen’s Thief series shows that you don’t need to do that to give a character complexity, but the choice of PoV and what that perspective adds are definitely questions to ask. We don’t always get the main character’s point of view, and he’s not always the main character of the book in question, but there’s no doubt that each book is adding to his character arc and that is the major one tied to the series arc.

3. C.S. PACAT

C.S. Pacat is not a YA fantasy author as of this moment. The Captive Prince trilogy is very much meant for mature readers (but I listened to an interview with her and it sounds like she might be writing a YA fantasy right now—so maybe we’ll hear more from her in the future). I first learned about the Captive Prince trilogy from Emily May at the Book Geek; I was intrigued, but I wasn’t sure if I should add onto my TBR—especially given its heavy sexual violence. Then Sarah J. Maas recommended the books, and my feed was full of the books again. So I decided to read the beginning, and I got hooked by the promise of the characters. As this article on the Female Gaze explains, one of the crucial elements in her books is this shifting of the default to homonormative. In her world, people shudder so much at the idea of bastard children that most relationships are with the same sex. And it got me thinking about how most fantasy novels, and novels in general, fail “to realistically portray sexual dynamics that do not exist in response and relation to traditional heterosexual relationships.” (The article goes over much more than that). C.S. Pacat has written novels where the default has shifted and made me consider—well, hey, why don’t more novels do this? This is something to always keep in mind while world-building. Plus, she’s ALSO amazing at adding in many layers to each scene and creating complex, multi-layered characters; they have a certain vitality, to the point where despite not knowing what Laurent would plan next or what other comradery scenes would come next for the army, I can picture the characters.

4. MAGGIE STIEFVATER

Maggie is the most different of the authors on this list because I wouldn’t technically call her work high fantasy (though if The Scorpio Races is on a fictional island and the society is different from ours with its water horses, why can't it be called high fantasy? finally high fantasy that doesn't equate to medieval patriarchal times...). Regardless, if C.S. Pacat has taught me about the defaults in world-building and characterization, Kristin Cashore about high-concept character-oriented high fantasy, and Megan Whalen Turner about layered plotting centered around a living legend, Maggie taught me the importance of atmosphere, of mood and feeling within a scene, and how those can work to achieve characterization in conjunction with the other elements I've mentioned. Maggie has talked about how she likes to think about her writing as 'moving stuff around in a reader's brain',' which creates a specific effect for each scene (and also each image for her characters). And reading the Raven Cycle, I feel that magic is real. I feel like I'm with her characters, experiencing the wonder of the forest, the creepy delight of trees speaking in Latin. That's a rare gift to find in a lot of fantasies, which prize political intrigue over readers being in the moment with the character.

5. MARIE RUTKOSKI

Finally, Marie Rutkoksi is a mastermind when it comes to introducing symbols within each scene. In The Winner's Curse, Kestrel agrees to something her father says, and he pats her cheek with his dirty hand. That dirty handprint is a wonderful symbol -- for the characters and modern associations. We might think of a "devil's bargain" caked onto Kestrel's face. Her father working with dirt, with his weathered hands; Kestrel wandering around the house, so focused on finding Arin that she doesn't look to see if there's dirt on her face -- so much to be said about the characters. It's just such a strong image! It stayed with me for a long time. And feeling like you're trapped in, marked so strongly by something you agreed to -- I as a reader can really relate to that feeling. In The Winner's Crime, Kestrel is eating desert with a sugar spoon during her dinner with a certain character (maybe the first chapter?). A sugar spoon, specially made, speaks to the luxury of her dining companion and his staff, the amusement and terrible waste of making a spoon that you can only ever use *once*. It also brings to mind the modern phrase of 'eating out of a silver spoon' -- except that this token of privilege is made of sugar. Still, it characterizes Kestrel well, and sets a dark foreboding tone for the rest of novel, given its place at the beginning. The spoon tastes sweet at the beginning but then by the end of the meal, it has dissolved into nothing (which, btw, matches really well with what Kestrel says at the end, no?). And note: those were only 2 images! One for each book! There are so, so many more in The Winner's trilogy.

All of these authors do amazing things with their novels. If you're a writer, especially a fantasy writer, I'd suggest reading their works for yourself to see how they've manipulated these different elements. If you're a reader who doesn't like to write, well, I'd still suggest reading these authors's works because they're brilliant. Are any of these authors among your favorites? Who do you fangirl over, and whose work makes for good lesson material for writers?

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review 2015-02-27 14:21
Review: The Winner's Crime - Marie Rutkoski

Release Date: March 03, 2015
Source: Netgalley
Published by: Farrar, Straus, Giroux

The Winner's Crime - Marie Rutkoski | Goodreads

Book two of the dazzling Winner's Trilogy is a fight to the death as Kestrel risks betrayal of country for love.

The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement…if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret.

As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them.


You can see my original thoughts on this book in this post.

Those who wanted more scheming, more of the strategy over romance will find The Winner's Crime improved over its predecessor, The Winner's Curse. TWC2 has just as beautiful and purposeful of writing; every scene contributes directly to the plot/character/world in some way (and I emphasize this because not every YA book that I've read carries that sort of charge) and the layered and textured quality to the writing, character-driven and tension-filled without a hint of melodrama, reminds me of Kristin Cashore's writing. The third person alternating PoVs continues here as well.

Though I compared The Winner's Curse, and the writing above in The Winner's Crime, to Kristin Cashore's work, I was most struck by a comparison to Bitterblue. Like Bitterblue, who, once confronted with the ineptitude of her court, must decide how best to discover the horrors of her father's regime and how to help her country heal, Kestrel knows and understands the horrors of the Valorian empire and must make a choice: how much is she willing to risk to help the others most affected by Valorian greed and dominance? She traded her freedom for the limited freedom of Arin's people, but as the synopsis tells you, that is not enough. As a spy, Kestrel is sorely tested on all sides: by the emperor, her father, the Herrani spymaster, Arin himself. She enters a sticky web of deceit and intrigue that reminded me of how Bitterblue managed her nighttime strolls and her queenly duties. Her character growth is truly remarkable to behold. I loved the strength of her mind in The Winner's Curse, and here it has come to the center stage.

Arin is the new leader of his people, and he is exhausted. He continues to think of his decision to let Kestrel go, and he is sure that there was something wrong with Kestrel when she delivered her message about his people's freedom, yet more and more he grows to doubt what he felt and what he saw with his own eyes. Did Kestrel return his feelings, or did he see what he only wanted to see? Has he been doing that all along, not just as Kestrel's lover but as his people's leader? Is he good for his people if he loves a Valorian? Where Arin was the sure one in the romance in The Winner's Curse, now he is less confident, Kestrel the one who pushes forward in the trials ahead. Arin's integrity is at stake; where Kestrel's mind shines, his fortitude comes to center stage even while they deceive each other and try to figure out the emperor's plans. His character growth as a leader is just as marvelous as Kestrel's as a spy.

The plot is absolutely marvelous. It balances political intrigue against the personal considerations of Kestrel and Arin; the games and deceit of the emperor's plans for Herran and Valoria with Kestrel's and Arin's growing doubts about their relationship -- will they destroy each other before the Valorian empire has its way? While we learn more about the differences between the Herrani and the Valorian people, it never feels like too much or too little; there's a lot left to learn but we're left with the impression that it's all been mapped out, maybe to come in the last book or maybe in another series, who knows? Also this has my FAVORITE kind of intrigue and suspense with regard to the villain's plans: it makes the villain feel so well developed when the main characters have to work to understand what is coming, and even then they might be too late before the real horrors begin. I love smart villains. I love well developed villains (or shall I say, characters in general). The Winner's Crime succeeds so well in portraying both sides, the Herrani and the Valorians, in this tentative peace, with the enemies still humanized (although monstrous) in softer scenes that also reveal their cunning. The political intrigue, strategy, and world-building are amplified and come full circle, the mystery plotline running alongside the coming-of-age and romance.

The romance is a lot less prominent in this novel than in The Winner's Curse. Where we first had to understand the stakes of a relationship between Arin and Kestrel in TWC1, now we see how that relationship will further their own character development. The romance turns more into a subplot while fueling the character's motivations and yet the few scenes are just as steamy, just as tension ridden and filled with stakes. This series takes into account the personal and the overarching rebellion in a delicious tension-driven package.

Basically, mark your calendars. Find time to read this book.

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url 2015-01-26 02:27
Preview of 2015 Books [Awesomeness Abounds!]

Are you looking for some really great 2015 young adult (or new adult) titles to pre-order with a gift-card? Or maybe you just want to mark your calendar with these new releases...

Because let me tell you, they are AWESOME.

 
You can watch the video above here or at my booktube channel.
 
My favorites of 2015 so far -- and you should totally mark your calendar with these release dates! You can think of this as a sort of preview or recap of my favorites so far because you'll definitely be hearing about these titles from me in FULL. (Well, the Mime Order, I wrote a Reasons to Read the Bone Season post instead. But all the others are lined up, reviews scheduled to post on Tuesdays through April 7th!).


1. The Mime Order - Samantha Shannon on January 27th, 2015
(https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20889470-the-mime-order)

 

  • Book 2 in the Bone Season series (7 total!). Futuristic London + clairvoyency powers + dystopia between humans, clairvoyents, and a mysterious race called the Rephaim? A story told in a very cinematic style - gritty, dark, and full of action? OH, HECK YES. I've submitted my pre-order because this was awesome!

 

2. Stone in the Sky - Cecil Castellucci on February 25th, 2015
(https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21469053-stone-in-the-sky)

 

  • Book 2 in the Tin Star duology. YA science fiction set in space + colonization efforts of humans and many, many races of aliens + girl trapped on a space station as the only human + survival + gold-rush-like elements + political intrigue + a huge galactic struggle.... Epic science fiction you should NOT miss.

 

3. The Winner's Crime - Marie Rutkoski on March 3rd, 2015
(https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20443207-the-winner-s-crime)

 

  • Book 2 in the Winner's trilogy. Set in a Greco-Roman inspired world, a forbidden romance between slave & master + LOTS of political intrigue, class and racial tension between two countries. Games, strategy. Paging Kristin Cashore fans, specifically those who liked Bitterblue: you do not want to miss this sequel - it DEFINITELY raised the stakes from book 1, The Winner's Curse.

 

4. The Walls Around Us - Nova Ren Suma on March 24th, 2015
(https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22859565-the-walls-around-us)

 

  • Orange is the new Black Swan + beautiful writing + seriously check out an excerpt because WOW WOW WOW to that first chapter. Bloody ballerinas + girls juvenile detention system + mystery/suspense + a tribute to girls in all their complexity. Nova Ren Suma's books are unlike any other in YA, and her writing a dream.

 

5. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli on April 7th, 2015
(https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22754644-simon-vs-the-homo-sapiens-agenda)

 

  • Coming-out coming-of-age YA with great voice, humor and heart. Great & huge character cast + adorable romance + grinning so, so hard + wonderful character development. Paging Stephanie Perkins fans, Lauren Oliver fans, and (probably) fans of Jennifer Smith's This Is What Happy Looks Like.

 

6. Crimson Bound - Rosamund Hodge on May 5th, 2015
(https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21570318-crimson-bound)

 

  • 17th century(?) or 1700s France meets Little Red Riding Hood meets The Maiden with No Hands. Fairy tale retelling that's inspired by its original material but is something completely its own, not bound by retelling demands. Complex characters + fascinating magical creatures + doomed but determined protagonist + romance like in Cruel Beauty + Arthurian elements + layered and unpredictable plot ===> Rosamund Hodge strikes again with pure gold.

7. Made You Up - Francesca Zappia on May 19th, 2015
(https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17661416-made-you-up)

 

  • Alex is a high school senior struggling to tell the difference between reality and delusion, and is very much determined to go to college despite her struggles. Fans of We Were Liars, Stephanie Kuehn, John Green, and The Breakfast Club: helllooo! Unreliable narrators + layered plots + rereading necessary to look at the details again + heartbreaking revelations + psychological twists + quirky/funny, smart characters + a side cast that rounds out the unique high school Alex attends. Definitely a different contemporary -- and one you will WANT to read asap :).


Kinda sorta what I said in the video, but much more abbreviated, ha. Or, if you want to try already released books, I've also talked about my top 12 young adult high fantasy recommendations here. (Yeah, Thursdays/Fridays/okay, really whenever I end up editing videos = the day I discuss on the blog lol regardless of topic.)

Do you plan on reading any of these books? Have you read any of these already? Which books are on your most anticipated of 2015 list?

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review 2014-05-08 22:44
The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
The Winner's Curse - Marie Rutkoski

When I first heard about this book, I was pretty excited, since I’ve consistently enjoyed Marie Rutkoski’s work (and LOVED her first trilogy). My enthusiasm suffered a slight ding when I read The Book Smuggler’s review, but I still looked forward to reading it a lot.

 

So, what to say, after actually reading? The writing is wonderful, which is not surprising. Rutkoski is a skilled prose writer, one of those people who can make it look so effortless. The world and characters are engaging and the pace really sweeps along, making for a breathless read, especially in the second half.

 

I very much liked and appreciated the fact that Kestrel is a heroine with a lot of agency and strength who is not great at fighting. Her talents lie in strategy and planning. Since I am always going on about the need for all kinds of heroines, this was a very nice thing to see.

 

I’ll also note that while I didn’t love the cover at first glance, and even really now, since it puts Kestrel in a weirdly passive pose, it does include a number of nice little details from the book–her braided hair, the dagger, etc.

 

Going in, I was worried about the romance between Kestrel and Arin, the slave she buys. It sounds fairly dicey in the abstract. That aspect actually turned out to be really well done, in my opinion. There’s a sense of meeting of the minds, rather than the purely physical “He’s so cutttteee” attraction which I personally feel is the downfall of many paranormal romances. They’re both complicated enough characters that their relationship is not a smooth one, but it’s also written in a way that I bought and became invested in.

 

So, all of those are positives, but I was left with some niggling issues and a whole post-it of notes. These are mostly related to the implications of the wider political scope of the book. Now, I’ll note that this is the first in a trilogy and I may later eat my words. However, I’m not entirely convinced that this will happen.

 

I’ll note now that the rest of this review will probably be mildly spoilery–if you want to avoid any and all spoilers, this is the place to stop reading.

 

Overall, I was left with a sense that, although lots of things happen–lots of huge changes in the characters’ lives and in their world which have huge implications for the way things will go in the future–the decisions and the consequences of those decisions are too easy. This is revolution, but it is a carefully planned revolution in which there is no chaos, no rioting, no uncontrolled bloodshed.

 

Similarly, because Kestrel’s strength is strategy, many of her decisions are made on the level of intellect rather than emotion. Although I certainly like seeing this as a strength, I also felt that it gave her actions a deliberate, bounded quality. Certainly there are consequences she doesn’t see or intend–the resolution of the book proves that–and yet, even in the twists, I felt that things were planned.

 

I also felt pretty strongly that Arin and Kestrel are both too Special. This is more of an issue in Arin’s case than in Kestrel’s, who is at least the child of one of the most rich and important men in the empire. Her skills make sense given her upbringing, special tutors, and so on. In Arin’s case, he’s about ten when the Herrani are subsumed into the Empire. He is then a slave, working in a quarry, in the docks, as a blacksmith. His being able to read makes sense; his knowing enough to successfully plan a revolution doesn’t work so well.

 

Underlying all of this is a key objection I have: that for a book dealing with the breaking down of privilege and a revolution against an oppressive government, the status quo remains oddly unchanged. We never really see the effects of slavery on the Herrani; there is no sense of the everyday violence they suffer, except the beating that Arin suffers at the hands of the Trajan family guards. The violence that we actually see as readers starts with the revolution.

 

I kept comparing this portrayal of Greco-Roman style slavery with that in A Conspiracy of Kings, which also deal with a child of privilege being confronted with the reality of slavery, but which has–at least for me–a much different effect. Sophos, in that instance, is himself directly affected and changed because of his experiences; his assumptions about the way the world works are completely broken down. While The Winner’s Curse makes many of the same moves, Kestrel has to be almost impossibly sympathetic, even at the beginning.

 

And although Arin is a point-of-view character, he is far more static than Kestrel. Kestrel, whose changing understanding allegiances are at the heart of the story. It’s her journey that is important, a kind of privileging of privilege. And Arin is, of course, a child of privilege himself, despite his current position. He is the natural leader of the Herrani resistance, because he is naturally charming and well spoken and strategically gifted–in a word, he is well born, with all that phrase implies. His conflict as a character comes with his growing attraction to Kestrel and the tension between that and his duty to his people, which is all good and interesting as it goes (I do like when main characters want to do the right thing), but it’s never resolved and I never had a sense that he had grown as a character.

 

All of this probably sounds more negative than I really mean it to. They’re certainly questions and concerns I have, but at the same time, I would say that I did enjoy The Winner’s Curse and intend to read the rest of the books. I’ll be interested to see if my perception changes once the series is complete. And I’ll add the caveat that other readers may not notice, or may not care about, or may disagree with my reading of the implications of the political aspects of the book. That’s all perfectly valid.

 

Other reviews of The Winner’s Curse:
Shae
The Book Smugglers
Stacked Books

Source: bysinginglight.wordpress.com/2014/05/08/the-winners-curse-by-marie-rutkoski
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review 2014-05-08 17:19
The Winner's Curse
The Winner's Curse (Winner's Trilogy, #1) - Marie Rutkoski

When I first heard about this book, I was pretty excited, since I’ve consistently enjoyed Marie Rutkoski’s work (and LOVED her first trilogy). My enthusiasm suffered a slight ding when I read The Book Smuggler’s review, but I still looked forward to reading it a lot.

 

So, what to say, after actually reading? The writing is wonderful, which is not surprising. Rutkoski is a skilled prose writer, one of those people who can make it look so effortless. The world and characters are engaging and the pace really sweeps along, making for a breathless read, especially in the second half.

 

I very much liked and appreciated the fact that Kestrel is a heroine with a lot of agency and strength who is not great at fighting. Her talents lie in strategy and planning. Since I am always going on about the need for all kinds of heroines, this was a very nice thing to see.

 

I’ll also note that while I didn’t love the cover at first glance, and even really now, since it puts Kestrel in a weirdly passive pose, it does include a number of nice little details from the book–her braided hair, the dagger, etc.

 

Going in, I was worried about the romance between Kestrel and Arin, the slave she buys. It sounds fairly dicey in the abstract. That aspect actually turned out to be really well done, in my opinion. There’s a sense of meeting of the minds, rather than the purely physical “He’s so cutttteee” attraction which I personally feel is the downfall of many paranormal romances. They’re both complicated enough characters that their relationship is not a smooth one, but it’s also written in a way that I bought and became invested in.

 

So, all of those are positives, but I was left with some niggling issues and a whole post-it of notes. These are mostly related to the implications of the wider political scope of the book. Now, I’ll note that this is the first in a trilogy and I may later eat my words. However, I’m not entirely convinced that this will happen.

 

I’ll note now that the rest of this review will probably be mildly spoilery–if you want to avoid any and all spoilers, this is the place to stop reading.

 

Overall, I was left with a sense that, although lots of things happen–lots of huge changes in the characters’ lives and in their world which have huge implications for the way things will go in the future–the decisions and the consequences of those decisions are too easy. This is revolution, but it is a carefully planned revolution in which there is no chaos, no rioting, no uncontrolled bloodshed.

 

Similarly, because Kestrel’s strength is strategy, many of her decisions are made on the level of intellect rather than emotion. Although I certainly like seeing this as a strength, I also felt that it gave her actions a deliberate, bounded quality. Certainly there are consequences she doesn’t see or intend–the resolution of the book proves that–and yet, even in the twists, I felt that things were planned.

 

I also felt pretty strongly that Arin and Kestrel are both too Special. This is more of an issue in Arin’s case than in Kestrel’s, who is at least the child of one of the most rich and important men in the empire. Her skills make sense given her upbringing, special tutors, and so on. In Arin’s case, he’s about ten when the Herrani are subsumed into the Empire. He is then a slave, working in a quarry, in the docks, as a blacksmith. His being able to read makes sense; his knowing enough to successfully plan a revolution doesn’t work so well.

 

Underlying all of this is a key objection I have: that for a book dealing with the breaking down of privilege and a revolution against an oppressive government, the status quo remains oddly unchanged. We never really see the effects of slavery on the Herrani; there is no sense of the everyday violence they suffer, except the beating that Arin suffers at the hands of the Trajan family guards. The violence that we actually see as readers starts with the revolution.

 

I kept comparing this portrayal of Greco-Roman style slavery with that in A Conspiracy of Kings, which also deal with a child of privilege being confronted with the reality of slavery, but which has–at least for me–a much different effect. Sophos, in that instance, is himself directly affected and changed because of his experiences; his assumptions about the way the world works are completely broken down. While The Winner’s Curse makes many of the same moves, Kestrel has to be almost impossibly sympathetic, even at the beginning.

 

And although Arin is a point-of-view character, he is far more static than Kestrel. Kestrel, whose changing understanding allegiances are at the heart of the story. It’s her journey that is important, a kind of privileging of privilege. And Arin is, of course, a child of privilege himself, despite his current position. He is the natural leader of the Herrani resistance, because he is naturally charming and well spoken and strategically gifted–in a word, he is well born, with all that phrase implies. His conflict as a character comes with his growing attraction to Kestrel and the tension between that and his duty to his people, which is all good and interesting as it goes (I do like when main characters want to do the right thing), but it’s never resolved and I never had a sense that he had grown as a character.

 

All of this probably sounds more negative than I really mean it to. They’re certainly questions and concerns I have, but at the same time, I would say that I did enjoy The Winner’s Curse and intend to read the rest of the books. I’ll be interested to see if my perception changes once the series is complete. And I’ll add the caveat that other readers may not notice, or may not care about, or may disagree with my reading of the implications of the political aspects of the book. That’s all perfectly valid.

 

Other reviews of The Winner’s Curse:
Shae
The Book Smugglers
Stacked Books

Source: bysinginglight.wordpress.com/2014/05/08/the-winners-curse-by-marie-rutkoski
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